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The unique facility is the only EFI-accredited lab in the entire region

Los Angeles, April 26, 2012 – The international scientific community once again gave high marks to the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR), following the triennial inspection this month of its HLA Typing Laboratory in Yerevan.

The extensive onsite inspection, which took place on April 23, was the third to be carried out since 2006, and resulted in the renewal of the ABMDR lab’s accreditation by the European Federation of Immunogenetics (EFI). An international agency that regulates bone marrow registries across the world, the EFI sets and maintains standards and protocols, provides various forums for scientific exchange, supports research and training, and develops relations with organizations in the field. The ABMDR HLA Typing Lab is the first facility of its kind and the only EFI-accredited lab in the entire Caucasus region.

The inspection of the lab on April 23 was conducted by EFI inspectors Dr. Ingrid Faé of Austria and Dr. Elisaveta Naumova of Bulgaria. Within the framework of the accreditation process, the inspectors examined the lab’s equipment and operational standards, evaluated the skills level of the staff, and reviewed the integrity of tissue-typing, storage, and other specialized procedures. The inspectors also met with high-ranking ABMDR executives including Dr. Frieda Jordan, president; Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director; and Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan, medical director.

Doctors Faé and Naumova concluded their inspection with high praise for the ABMDR lab’s scientific and technical excellence, thereby approving the renewal of the facility’s EFI accreditation.

Dr. Frieda Jordan, who had traveled to Armenia to be on hand for the inspection of the lab, expressed great delight at ABMDR’s latest milestone. “Whenever the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry is given kudos by the international scientific community, and the EFI in particular, our work becomes all the more worthwhile,” she said. “I thank the EFI inspectors for their conscientious effort to maintain the highest possible standards in the field of immunogenetics. I also convey my heartfelt gratitude to our outstanding staff, as well as volunteers and supporters worldwide, for making ABMDR’s life-saving mission possible.”

About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 21,554 donors in 14 countries across three continents, identified 2,135 patients, and facilitated 13 bone marrow transplants.

For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.

ABMDR lab staff with EFI inspectors.

A scene from a meeting between ABMDR executive staff, including Dr. Frieda Jordan (third from left), and EFI inspectors Dr. Ingrid Faé (far left) and Dr. Elisaveta Naumova (far right).

[PHOTO CREDIT] Photos courtesy of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

and heightened public awareness

Los Angeles, February 2, 2012 – During January 27-29, the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) conducted a highly successful recruitment campaign in Lebanon.

Led by Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of ABMDR, the campaign enjoyed the full support of the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon (ARCL). Throughout the three-day initiative, ARCL chair Taline Koulbashian and other leaders of the organization facilitated several recruitments in Beirut, Aynjar, and elsewhere. Moreover, they helped raise public awareness of the ABMDR mission through various media outlets and made informative presentations at recruitment events.

“We are so very touched by the warm welcome we received from the Armenian-Lebanese community as a whole and the Armenian Relief Cross in particular,” said Dr. Avagyan, who throughout the recruitments was accompanied by ABMDR staff members Naira Mkrtchyan and Gohar Malkhasyan.

On January 27 and 28, recruitments were held at the Araxi Boulghourjian Center in Burj Hamud, the Homenetmen Aghpalian Club in Antelias, and two other districts with sizeable Armenian communities. The recruitment effort continued on January 29, with a major event held at the ARCL Clinic in the Armenian town of Aynjar.

All of the recruitments, which featured informative lectures by Dr. Avagyan and ARCL personnel as well as ABMDR information boots, were attended by large numbers of supporters. The events resulted in a total of 262 recruits as potential bone marrow stem cell donors.

“My colleagues and I were delighted to promote the ABMDR cause and were overjoyed to see so many young people interested in being recruited,” Mrs. Koulbashian said.

In addition to providing logistical support for the realization of the recruitment events, the ARCL leadership ensured that the ABMDR campaign would receive maximum media exposure.

On January 27 Dr. Avagyan gave interviews to the “Vana Dzayn” Armenian radio program as well as the OTV television station. Topics discussed by Dr. Avagyan in both interviews included life-threatening blood-related illnesses such as leukemia, the history and mission of ABMDR, and the vital importance of Diaspora Armenians joining the ranks of the registry as potential bone marrow donors. The recruitment campaign also received coverage by Aztag Daily.

Commenting on the success of the recruitments, Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of ABMDR, stated, “The activism of the Armenian-Lebanese community is truly inspiring. What Dr. Avagyan and his assistants witnessed in Lebanon is an outstanding spirit of volunteerism which we can all be proud of. With this regard, our special thanks go to Mrs. Taline Koulbashian and all of her colleagues at ARCL, for their hard work and tremendous dedication to our shared mission.”

About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 21,554 donors in 13 countries across three continents, identified 2,135 patients, found 1,753 potential matches, and facilitated 13 bone marrow transplants.

makes history by hosting first European Federation of Immunogenetics meeting in Armenia
The prestigious conference is dedicated to training and education in the fields of immunogenetics and bone marrow/stem cell transplantation

Los Angeles, November 29, 2011 – The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) reached a new milestone this month when it hosted the first-ever European Federation of Immunogenetics (EFI) Training and Educational Meeting to be held in Armenia.

The high-profile symposium took place in Yerevan during November 18-19 at the Ani Plaza Hotel. Featuring world-renowned speakers from Europe and elsewhere, it brought together close to 150 doctors and experts in the fields of immunogenetics and bone marrow transplantation. The meeting was attended by participants representing more than 15 countries from Europe, the region, and the CIS including Armenia, Iran, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and others.

With sessions dedicated to recent advances in HLA (human leukocyte antigen) immunogenetics, stem cell and organ transplantation, and HLA-disease associations, the conference functioned as a global forum for sharing scientific expertise and expanding the knowledge base of participants. As importantly, the event fostered international medical cooperation and helped pave the way for the advancement of immunogenetics in various countries. The conference was organized by ABMDR, under the auspices and major sponsorship of EFI. Other top sponsors of the event included Fruitfull Armenia, Dr. Arpenik Avagyan, and Dr. Evgeni Sokurenko.

The selection of Armenia as the host country of the EFI meeting was made in January of this year. As announced by the EFI leadership, the main factors in selecting Armenia were the scope and quality of ABMDR’s work. Specifically, the federation cited ABMDR’s HLA tissue typing laboratory in Yerevan as the only, and EFI-accredited, facility of its kind in the entire region.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, welcome remarks were delivered by Dr. Ara Babloyan, chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs, Healthcare, and Environmental Protection; Dr. Sergey Khachatryan, deputy minister of health; Dr. Ilias Doxiadis, president of EFI; Dr. Bella Kocharyan, honorary chair of ABMDR; Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of ABMDR; and Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of ABMDR.

As Dr. Avagyan spoke of ABMDR’s accomplishments and goals, he stated: “Our tissue typing operation has had the challenge of responding to a tremendous influx in prospective bone marrow stem cell donors due to the great success of our efforts, both in the U.S. and throughout the diaspora. Last year, which marked our registry’s tenth anniversary, recruitment teams registered an astounding 5,000 donors within a short span. This is, of course, a good challenge to have, as we currently have over 1,500 patient families seeking a donor match from our registry.”

Dr. Avagyan’s aim of reaching out to larger numbers of patients struck by life-threatening blood-related diseases was echoed by Dr. Bella Kocharyan. “We view the EFI meeting in Yerevan as a stepping stone toward the establishment of a bone marrow transplantation center in Armenia,” she said.

As Dr. Frieda Jordan addressed conference participants, she underscored the significance of the EFI meeting in Armenia. “Six  years ago,” she said, “we welcomed our first EFI colleagues to Yerevan, when they came to inspect our laboratory operations. A few months after their visit, we learned that ABMDR was granted EFI accreditation — ours was the first laboratory of its kind in the CIS to receive it. Now we experience another first for the registry, and for Armenia: hosting an international scientific symposium of this caliber is an honor, and — we hope — an opportunity to continue to ‘surprise’ our colleagues with the quality of our work and the progress we have made.”

“We owe much of our success to plain hard work and the dedication of the ABMDR staff and volunteers,” Dr. Jordan continued. “But we also owe it to colleagues such as yourselves who, for many years before us, have created the models for success and set the standards for our work. And now, perhaps, we are in a position to ‘give back’ to our colleagues. ABMDR has not only built a foundation for its own success, but can also be a source of information for other registries getting started. Each of our registries is a beacon of hope for all who suffer from life-threatening blood-related diseases. At this EFI meeting, we are gathered to share our knowledge with each other as we all work toward giving the greatest gift imaginable: life itself.”

Speaking on behalf of EFI, Dr. Ilias Doxiadis had high praise for ABMDR as he addressed the attendees. Citing ABMDR’s global efforts in the past several months to launch the EFI meeting in Yerevan, Dr. Doxiadis applauded the registry’s success in helping provide an international platform where foremost immunogenetics specialists could share their expertise with colleagues from a diversity of countries. Dr. Doxiadis expressed hope that the meeting would lead to new avenues of cooperation between current EFI members such as ABMDR and other conference participants.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, EFI Region 8 chair Dr. Chryssa Papasteriades congratulated ABMDR for hosting the unprecedented event. “This has been a fantastic symposium,” she said. “The top-notch scientific program, the excellent coordination, the memorable social events that complemented the various sessions, and, above all, the wonderful diversity of participants as well as the friendly, infinitely supportive atmosphere resulted in an extraordinary success.”

About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 21,554 donors in 13 countries across three continents, identified 2,135 patients, found 1,753 potential matches, and facilitated 13 bone marrow transplants.

For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.

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[CAPTIONS]

1) [Speakers and participants.jpg]

A scene from the conference. Speakers included, from left, Prof. Ilias Doxiadis, president of EFI; Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of ABMDR; Dr. Ann-Margaret Little, director of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Glasgow; Dr. Chryssa Papasteriades, EFI Region 8 commissioner; Dr. Carlheinz Mueller, vice-president of the World Marrow Donor Association Europe/Africa; Prof. Ardeshir Gavamzadeh, head of Tehran University Medical School Hematology-Oncology and BMT Research Center; Prof. Gottfried Fischer, Medical University of Vienna; and Dr. Gurvinder Kaur, All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

2) [Dr. Jordan addressing conference.jpg]

Dr. Frieda Jordan addressing the conference.

3) [Avagyan, Jordan, Kocharyan.jpg]

From left: ABMDR executive director Dr. Sevak Avagyan, ABMDR president Dr. Frieda Jordan; and ABMDR honorary chair Dr. Bella Kocharyan.

4) [Conference participants with EFI Board members.jpg]

Conference participants with EFI Board members and ABMDR staff.

[PHOTO CREDIT]

All photos courtesy of ABMDR.